Canadian Sustainable Timber Innovations
solutions without sacrifices™

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) Sustainability

Environmental

CLT is a natural replacement for reinforced concrete and requires much less energy to build with, both during the material production and installation phases

The wood in the panels sequester carbon, taking it out of the carbon cycle

Our CLT is made from trees already killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle that would be emitting CO2 if they were kept in the forest.

The glue used is safer than classic adhesives because it is non-carcinogenic, has no formaldehyde or solvents and only accounts for 0.4% of the product

There is no waste in our manufacturing process since all excess is used for other purposes like for pulp products, berry farms, landscaping and in greenhouses

CLT is the best solution for the construction of Passive Houses, which are so well-built and well-insulated that they require no sources of heating even in cold climates

All of our raw lumber is harvested according to the standards set by the Programme for Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC). This is the world’s largest forest certification system and the global standard for sustainable forestry with 75% of the worlds’ forests under its guidelines

Mountain Pine Beetle

The Mountain Pine Beetle has devastated an area of BC’s forests equal to England or Florida and is expected to kill 80% of BC’s pine forest by 2013. This wood is only usable for 5-15 years from the time it dies, and after that becomes unusable, even for wood chips or pulp. It becomes an even greater carbon source in our forests as it rots and possibly burns in uncontrollable forest fires. By 2020, rather than absorbing CO2, our forests are expected to emit as much carbon dioxide as 5 years of all transportation in Canada. The biggest bright spot in this catastrophe is that if this wood is harvested soon enough it can be used perfectly well in CLT panels.

Sequestration

As more and more greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere and accelerates climate change, it becomes incredibly important to do two things simultaneously: reduce its release and capture what is already out there. As trees grow, they take Carbon from the air and sequester it in their wood. The wood we use is 50% Carbon by weight. The only way that carbon can be released is when the tree rots or burns in a forest fire, which is the sad fate of most of the Mountain Pine Beetle affected forests. The best alternative to this is to take the trees which have already died – in the 5-10 years that they are still usable – and utilize them in construction.
By taking that dead wood before it goes to waste we are able to engineer it into a building product that not only sequesters tonnes of Carbon, but by replacing steel and concrete greatly reduces the amount that is being released into the air. The on-site, off-site and lifetime sustainability benefits of CLT is unparalleled.

"Carbon accumulation in forests and soils eventually reaches a saturation point, beyond which additional sequestration is no longer possible. This happens, for example, when trees reach maturity." - http://www.epa.gov/sequestration/faq.html